Tongs.



J. W. WATSON.

TONGS.

APPLICATXON FILED 11.30, 1913.

Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

fizz/anion Jaim W. Wat/3072 {UNETEQP STA ES PATENT,

TONGSi 1,111,338. 'j sp m tm Patented-Sept. 22-,1914=.

-Applieationfiledlrprillm,1913.. Serial 210764373 v To l w m y C imean-.7 therehetween an article or load'to be lifted- Beitlc-iimr n that 1,:J'0HN W; WATSON, a said tpngs. The end ofeach tong arm citizen. bfthe United States, andja resident pcsde its nxr-c, 15 provided With-an up-.

in; the connty'ol'i Lake and State weirdly prone-ting, integral end p'ortione, e.

l .n have.inrented=scertain new and Said end portions 6, e'zire' oppositely di 60 'useffiul Improvements -".lngs;: and' I do posed and form the diverging ends. of said hereby declare that the following is a full, ngs. As shown, said di\-'e rgin'g nd perclenr; and exactdescription; thereof, ref-. tinns e, e arepnopposite sides of gindjare erence heinghed t6 the accompanying drawequi fFtTiI-Tl the. P l axisof 04 10 3f is and m tlrelette -of, reference marked ng rms T e di rg g n e, e of ther -wl' ic'li form .a: part of this specifithe tong armsn-re attached the lower ends cation. V of lifting chains/,f by meansof pins It, It.

his invention rela tes t m g of 7 that The chains f, f are equal in length and are typesch hted forili fting henvy articles such connected at their-upper ends with aiF-sus- {a} ingots 'slabq biuts; timbef iuld th 111 penslnn ring gr which isadapt-ecl to be at' The? t the: invention to i v tachcd to a cable or trolley depending from did of Long; 5' th ki d theend of-the swinging boom of a derrick for! d, 0. i. the. e ii' tl g g rticulars aswill .0 {will F F'ernen-d (Ii-mu Each t i here lit r npP-anfahdit'zilso incluclcs par is PF -i 9 a a t 76 ti culgr ir i' rnents in the construction of jawed end thereof with a laterally opening j f .secnring the ton recess i, forming a downwardly facing nrmsftoget-hel ith't e jmirs thereof in'opcn shoulder j, j-egains't the underltsurface' of positigg'i,, end- ,:to z liteinaticimlly" nnleclz or which. is adapted t0 cfintact and bear up- 'relense-isaidtcn': grins se -that the jaws will \rz-irdlyr thereagainst' the toothed end m of a so f h .m d i pawl Ir] pivctillv nior'int-edby -me 'nns-cf a H load to b; pivot pin 1 pen the sid erface' of=and at the ,ecl hv.;sr u, without-the adjacent, I end of the mating tong arm. b iifimtbr lng within the" When the pim'zl In, at'eaeh end of the bong tongs or the nrticie "to bejlifted arms a, b have their toothed ends m, m Pro- 1'. j jecting into'the recesses i-,-.i'and. i g H nvention ists. 'ili-Lll hmtters the clmvnwardlirfaeing slidul'ders j, i; said herein mgfg pgl tic u' afly tong arms aft: lQC-lCECl ()2 held with tlit. jaws pointed-out inth iappended claims. in on position Y u m co rripg iyifi fidfgw ing f Fig ul'lli! 'll (I(i [)OltlOn {I}, of each pawl 76, is 80 l i t iewf-ef a'pair 9f tongs above the pivotal axis'of the pawl and is cc fi fi' g m mnviderl' with a lateral projection forming '.1 i 1 ;d' ii the toethed end m above referred to. The i -1 151 fi =pzxwls Zr, 1;: are yieldinglyheld in locked po- -1 iti0ns."n:\mely, with the ripper edge'or surf tacenf the toothed ends m, m in contact .with the nassociated",(iuwnwnrclly facing l'ogk d mu f 's lmnlder s'j, j'lpyi the end portions m, n of l tii belifted "5 Id pa w'ls below th'ejlpir'ot pinsLYl being eelv at-ibnnll" shied. 'll1(/ V f ""litd endportio'ns' T41 7 'e its@1011titer-weights forthe.pawls and rct. t-(giswzmg thc paw'ls ziboutthe pivot pins h {iiul' maintain. idp'hwls wit-lithe ends I m an thereof anti zilly horizontally (lisj nsd. The recessed endsof the tongarms a I! are further [I'JOYltldlVllQll laterally fac- 1 Y Y iv-g recesses 0. 0 lonitedjbeloiv the recesses "mnliy. my; sot 21' 1. the said reces es 'bi "0. forming do nli ten ziifrnispr prided at url if a i g shoulders the outer ends, 7', 7; i iditdng of which are nearer (q the pivot bolt. :5 than ,f llm similar endof the shouldersj, j and form trip-prnject-imis'. the purpose I? which will presently be described.

moving past the jaws c, c, in swinging the tong arms into open position, said jaws c,

. are each provided with a lateral projection 1 s, s in the path of the downward movementof the diverging ends 6, e .of the mating tong arms and against thev upwardly facing shoulders formed by such projections s, s; the under surfaces t, t of the diverging ends of the adjacent or mating tong arms are adapted to come into contact. Said projec-tions s, s also serve to reinforce and strengthen the jaws c, c.

The tongs herein described and shown operate as follows: When the tong arms a, b are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the jaws c, c of said tong arms are open and adapted to receive therebetween the load or article to be lifted or handled by the tongs. Said tong arms a, b are locked with the jaws open, and the swinging of the tong arms in a direction to effect the closing of the jaws is prevented by the pawls k, is having their ends m, m projecting into the recesses i, i and in contact with the downwardly facing shoulders 7', j. The pawls k, is being weighted, as above described, the ends m, m are yieldingly held in contact with the shoul ders j, j and accidental swinging of the pawls out of engagement with the shoulders 7', j in the jarring of the tongs, is prevented. As shown in Fig. 1, the under surfaces t, t of the diverging ends 6, e are, when the tong arms are locked in open position, above and out of contact with the upwardly facing shoulders formed by the lateral projections s, .s. The tong arms a, Z7 when locked in open position, as shown in Fig. 1, are placed over the load or article to be lifted or handled with the article in position: to be interposed between the jaws c, a. The tongs are then lowered by allowing the chains f, f and ring 9 'to descend until the ends of the jaws c, 0 come into contact with or strike the floor or base upon which the load or article rests at the sides of said article, that is in case the width of the articles to be lifted is less than the distance between the open ans 0, c. If the article to be handled or ii ed is as wide as the distance between the jaws c, 0 when open, the tongs are lowered until the inner faces of the jaws engage the sides of the interposed load. After the jaws 0, a contact with the base upon which the article rests,

or with the sides of the article as the case may be, the descent ofthe chains 1, f and suspension ring-gas continued, thereby permitting the divergingends e, e to move downwardly relatively to the jaws c, c (which are at this time held from further downward movement by being in contact with the floor-or article) and carrying with them the pawls k, k. The pawls k, k are thus moved downward and out ofengagement with the downwardly facing shoulders 7', j, and the downward movement of the diverging ends (2, e is continued until the ends m, m of the pawls pass the teeth or projections 72, 7) below the shoulders j, j. The pawls, by reason of the weighted parts n, n, will swing on their pivots in a direction to cause the ends m, m to project into the lower reccsses'o, 0 with the projections p, p engaging the upper faces of the body portions 9, g of the pawls at a point between the pivot pins Z, Z and the pointed ends m, m of said pawls, as shown in Fig. 2. Further downward movement of the parts is prevented by the diverging ends e, e coming into contact. with the projections s, s. The pawls being weighted, the same are yieldingly'maintained in contact. with the pro ections 72, p, with the ends m, m of said.

.arms are unlocked, and an upward pull on the same exerted through the suspensionring 9 acts throughthe chains f, f and pulls the diverging ends e,e of the tong arms up-- wardly and toward each other and the 'jaws c, 0 toward each other to grip the interposed load or article, indicated by? in Fig. 3, at the same time lifting the tongs andthe load. The body portions-g, q of -the pawls l", k are of suflicient length to engage said projections p, p when thepivot pins h, h are moved above the level of said projections 1, p in the upward movement of the diverging ends e,,e of said tong arms, as just described, and, by reason of this fact, the pawls is, k are rotatcd'or turned with the weighted ends n, n swung outwardly and the toothed ends m,.m pointing downward in the movement of the pawl ends m, m past the projections p, p. -As a consequence, the pawl ends m, m will slip past the upper shoulders j, j without'coming into contact therewith, as the diverging ends e, e of said tong arms are raised and the jaws c, 0 moved toward each other into gripping engagement with the interposed load or article to be lifted. After the load is clamped between the jaws c, 0 the tong's are raised, thereby raising the load and the same transported to the desired place, which of course is within the territory covered by the der-. rich or crane from which the'tongs' are suspended. The position that the parts occupy at this time is shown in Fig. 3, and it will he noted. that the pawls la, 10 occupy positions with the .ends m, m thereof substantially horizontally disposed After the destination is reached the tongs and load 7* are lowered and the load 1' placed on the supporting base. In order to release the jaws c, e from gripping engagement with the interposed load or article '7', after the same rests on the Si iporting base or floor. and permit the tongs to be raised from the load with the jaws a, 0 locked in open p0 siticn, the tongs are lowered by allowing the ring y and chains f t descend, thereby permitting the diverging ends e, e of the tong arms to move apart and descend, carrying therewith the pawls is. k, which before the descent of the diverging ends were above the shmilders j, j, as shown in Fig. 3. The descent of the diverging ends of the tong arms causes the swinging of the same in Qdirection to eti'ect the opening of the jaws c, c and release the tongs from engagement with the load 1'; The descent of the diverging ends of the tong arms is continued'until the ends m. m of the pawls is. it pass by the shoulders j and swing into the recesses i, i, whereupon the diverging ends of the tong arms are raised and the pawls brought into engagement with the downwardly facing shoulders j, j. and lock the tong arms with the jaws in open position, as shown in Fig. 1, and the tongs may be raised in open position away from the load which has just been handled.

iVhen another load is to be handled or lifted, the tong arms are lowered in open position over the load or article to be handied, with the article between the jaws f. and the operations set forth above repeated.

The tongs are thus adapted to be automatically opened and closed without the operator manually swinging the pawls lo, It or coming so close to the articles to be lifted by said tongs as to be affected by the heat. in case such articles to he handled are to be handled while in a heated state. The open mg and closing of the tongs to release and grip an article may be effected or accomplished with facility and the tongs used in an efficient manner without the necessity of the operator actually touching or manually handling or manipulating the tongs or any of the parts thereof.

It is to be understood that the mechani cal construction of the tongs illustrated may be changed and variously modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention and I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction and arrangement shown except as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device of the haracter described, comprising pi voted tong arms provided with gripping jaws, means for movablv support ing said long arms. a pawl pivotally mounted on one of said tong arms and adapted to have locking engagement with the other of said tong arms, for holding the tong arms and jaws in open position, and a trip memher on the other of said tong arms adapted in the movement of said tong arms relatively to each other to act on said pawl for moving the same out. of locking engagement with said tong arms.

2. The combination of pivoted tong arms having diverging end portions provided with gripping jaws, a pawl-engaging shoulder upon a pivoted tong arm member, means for movably supporting the diverging end portions of the tong arms, a pivoted pawl mounted adjacent to and movable into and out of engagement with said pawl-engages ing shoulder, for holding the jaws in open position and permitting the movement of the jaws to gripping position, and a. pawloperating member upon and movable with the shouldered tong arm member, for holding the pawl in releasing position in the upward movement of the pawl when the pawl is in position to engage said pawloperating member.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of pivoted tong arms having diverging end portions and provided with gripping jaws movable to extended and gripping ositions, means for movably supporting t e diverging end portions of the tong arms, a pawl pivotally mounted upon one of. said tong arms and movable into and out of engagement with the other tong arm, and av pawl-operating shoulder upon the last mentioned tong arm and movable into and out of engagement with the pawl and adapted to rotate the pawl into downwardly extending releasing position during the upward movement of the pawl.

l. The combination of pivoted tong arms having diverging end portions provided with gripping jaws, a pawl-engaging shoulder upon at least one of the pivoted tong arm members, means for movably support ing the diverging end portions of the tong arms, and a pivoted pawl mounted adjacent to and having a free pointed end movable into and out of engagement with one of the tong arms, for holding the jaws in open position and permitting the movement of the jaws to gripping position, said pawl having a weighted arm portion adapted 'to yieldingly hold the pointed end of the pawl in position to engage the adjacent shouldered tong arm member.

5. The combination of pivoted tong arms having diverging end portions provided with gripping jaws, a pawl-operating shoulder upon at least one of the'pivoted tong arm members, means for movably support ing the diverging end portions of the tong arms. a pivoted pawl mounted adjacentito' and havin a free pointed end movable into and out of engagement with one of the tong arms, for holding the jaws in open position and permitting the movement of the jaws to gripping position, said pawl having a weighted arm portion adapted to yieldingly hold the pointed end of the pawl in position to engage the adjacent shouldered tong arm member, and a awl-operating member upon and movable with the shouldered tong arm member, for holding the pawl in releasing position in the upward movement of the pawl when the pawl is in position to be engaged by said pawl-operating meinlwr.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of pivoted tong arms having diverging end portions and provided with gripping jaws movable to extended and gripping positions, at least one of said tong arms having an upper pawl-engaging shoulder, means for movably supporting the diverging end portions of the tong arms, a pawl pivotally mounted upon one of said tong arms and movable into and out of engagement with the adjacent upper shoulder of the other ton arm, and a lower pawloperating shoulder upon the shouldered tong arm, and adapted to engage and turn the pawl to releasing position in'its upward movement when the pawl is in position to engage such lower shoulder.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of pivoted tong arms having diverging end portions and provided with gripping jaws movable to extended and gripping positions, a flexible element connected with the diverging end portions of the tong arms for raising and lowering the same, pawls mounted upon the diverging end plprtions of the tong arms and each mova e into and out of engagement with an adjacent tong arm, for holding the tong arms in extended position, and pawl-operating shoulders extending into the path of movement of the pawls and adapted to cause the rotation of the pawls to downwardly extending released position in the upward movement of the pawls when the latter are in position to engage the pawloperating shoulders.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of pivoted tong armsrhaving diverging end portions and provided with depending jaws movable to extended and gripping positions, a flexible element secured to the diverging end portions of the tong arms and comprising a plurality of -t1cxibly mounted sections extending upward and inward at an incline from the points of connection with the diverging end portions of the arms, pawls pivotally mounted upon the diverging end portions of the arms and each comprising a pointed end portion adapted to engage the adjacent tong arm, each of said pawls having a counter-weight portion adapted to hold the pointed end portion of the pawl yieldingly in normal position, and a pawl-engaging shoulder upon the tong arm into and out of engagement with which the pointed end of the pawl is adapted to be moved for turning the pawl upon its axis to inoperative position.

In testimony, that I, claim the foregoing as my invention 1 affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 28th day of April A. D. 1913.

JOHN W. WATSON. Witnesses:

lHARLns H. POOLE, WALTER Vroxnor. 

